Don't Think About a Pink Elephant

If I tell you to not think about a pink elephant, the first thing you do is think about a pink elephant. In order to not think about it, you have to first think about it. This is the nature of repression. Attempting not to think about something is ultimately futile. In fact, efforts to not think about something is often the quickest path to obsession. Throw in an absolute taboo on an activity that one is trying not to think about and suddenly the obsession goes underground and mutates.

This bring us to priests and celibacy. With the continuing saga of the pandemic of pedophile priests now dragging the Pope into the cover-up it is not surprising that the Church refuses to address the root causes of its problems. The psychological make-up of those who will undertake a lifetime vow of celibacy must be called into question. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, sex is a basic physiological need akin to food and water. Adult who voluntarily ignore such a need are unlikely to function in a psychologically complete manner.

The idea and ideal underpinning celibacy from a psychoanalytic perspective is that the sexual desire will be sublimated into good works and service. The ideal is usually far from the reality. While some priests, maybe even a majority, achieve this state of sublimating their sexual energy, there are many who clearly do not.

This is the crux of the problem: many individuals who would take a vow of celibacy do so out of a desire to flee from sexual impulses with which they are uncomfortable. The flaw here is that this is analogous to thinking of anything but a pink elephant. The vow of celibacy reminds them that they are not to engage in the behavior and now that they are in the priesthood, even the thoughts become forbidden and there becomes an isolation around the individual.

It is this isolation and forbidden aura around sex that causes some sort of mutation of the sex drive. Yes, I am stating that the requirement of celibacy is linked to the pedophilia. It is likely that many pedophile priests would be classified as immature type pedophiles. By this I mean that they are emotionally immature themselves as regards sexual development. This type of pedophile can be particularly dangerous in that they seem so innocuous and even child like at times. This does not change the fact that they are adults knowing abusing children. With priests, the inherent trust mixed with the social power of the position make them even more dangerous.

The issue of celibacy must be addressed along with the issue of pedophilia. It may not be is cause but it is certainly its cloak and crucible.